Tragedy Averted: Midair Crash Between Vistara And Air India flights

Mumbai: Tragedy was averted in Mumbai sky on Wednesday after an Air India and a Vistara flights, flying in opposite directions, sped towards each other and came as close as 100 feet, before a mid-air collision was dodged by just a few seconds.

According to a report in The Times of India, both the flights were flying in opposite direction on the same altitude and the collision was averted by just a few seconds.

The incident is now being probed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).In recent times, this is the second such incident that has been reported in Maharashtra skies. Earlier on January 28, IndiGo A-320, flying from Hyderabad to Raipur, and the Emirates Boeing 777, on its way from Singapore to Dubai, breached the minimum distance over Nagpur.

The report said that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had taken cognisance of the incident and even grounded two pilots of Air Vistara. The collision was averted after 8 pm on Wednesday between Air India flight AI 631 and Vistara’s UK 997, with more than 150 passengers onboard.

Air Vistara has, however, reportedly claimed that it was on the direction of the Air Traffic Control that its pilots descended the aircraft to the altitude on which the Air India flight was flying.